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The Twin Sages that Govern the Darkness
Inside the Guild Haven, it was quiet. Akatsuki had long since informed every guild in the Haven of the looming Gehaburn threat, and many of the guilds had vacated, not out of fear, but to try and warn everyone in the real world. "Everyday..." Olivia sighed. "It seems like the world is getting ever darker..." She was unused to such an empty guild. Only she, Chiyome, Corinne, Len, Wendy, Yasaka, and Jason remained. However, Corinne was busy in the real world helping the other guilds try and come up with a protection plan for citizens in case something went wrong. She heard the door creek, and saw Chiyome come in from the barn. She had obviously been milking the cow, and seemed as if she could use a good rest. "Need anything, Chiyome?" Chiyome had her fists clenched; muttering in a quiet voice, "No, not at all. But...shouldn't we evacuate if it gets too rough? Safety first; besides, if anything happens, we can always pick up the pieces and rebuild later." The worry was evident in her tone. "We can't do that." Olivia replied in an admonishing tone. "This is our home after all. And Wendy would rip our arms off if we tried to move Jason while he's still unconscious. For now, the best thing to do is to remain here. If you're worried for your own safety, we're far safer in this dimension than in the other dimension." She sighed. "I'm far more concerned about Jason right now. He hasn't woken up yet and it's been a few weeks since he first went under...." Her voice seemed to be about to crack, but she managed to conceal that. More emotional than most in the guild, Olivia was. Chiyome seemed annoyed at Olivia's comment. "I'm not looking out just for myself. I'm trying to make sure that everyone else is safe, not me. Got that? Trust me, Jason will be fine. Stuff on this level of bad has happened before. He's survived it all." "Even if you have the utmost confidence in his ability to survive..." Olivia slumped into a seat. "I won't believe it until I see something..." ---- Upstairs, inside the harem bedroom, Wendy was still sitting in the dark, on the large bed she shared with Jason and the rest of the girls. She had barely moved from this spot for a week, except for a few human moments, and Jason was still unconcious, his head resting on her lap like it had been. "What is this..." Wendy was tossing the Colstone Mr. E had given her over in her palms. The small sphere was glowing wit a very pretty pink light, but somehow, Wendy was able to see beyond this light, which she could tell was a deception, into the darkness that lay within this sphere. "What does that man want with Jason? This sphere...it's nothing but negative force...maybe...maybe I can purify it." She didn't know where this thought had come from, but she began to call upon the pure air of the Guild Haven, creating a sphere of healing wind around it. "I think..." However, before her magic had any effect, the Colstone began to crackle and spark, releasing a blast of power that disrupted Wendy's own magic, shocking her and causing her to drop it. The sphere landed on Jason's face, and rolled down next to his arm. "Ugh...." Jason seemed to stir at this, opening his eyes somewhat. The first sight he was greeted with was the face of Wendy, who was looking at the slight burns on her hand. "Wendy...you're here..." Wendy gasped, surprised to hear his voice. "You're awake!" She cried, throwing her arms around him in a very awkward hug, giving their positioning. Jason tried to say something, but he was muffled by Wendy's stomach, which was blocking his face. She gasped again, and quickly sat back up. "I'm sorry!" "It's fine..." He muttered. His eyes seemed to scan the room. "So...we're back at the guild...." "Yes. Hephaestus-san returned you here, but there really isn't anyone here right now..." Wendy seemed to trail off at this. How much did she want to let Jason know right now? He'd certainly try to join the fighting if she told him everything. "I see..." He closed his eyes for a minute. "Gehaburn....it's gone, isn't it?" "It is..." Wendy tried to be vague, but she had a feeling Jason was catching on. "I can also tell that it's everywhere..." He sighed. "It seems my soul was too weak to hold it, after that man, Crux, nearly killed me. So it divided itself into pieces....how is everyone handling this?" "Well...they're...kind of...out fighting the pieces..." She winced as she spoke every word. What was Jason about to go? "I figured as much..." Jason groaned. He had tried to sit up. "It seems I can't even move my body...he really did manage to put me in quite a state...I can't even get up to pick up my own mess..." Wendy was definitely relieved to hear this. "Just stay put, Jason." She urged him. "I'm going to be right here...as long as you're like this, I'll be here to protect you this time around!" There was an edge to her voice, as if she was saying this not only for Jason's benefit, but for the benefit of other listeners. "Alright..." Jason relaxed his body. "Then I can relax with that in mind..." At this, he seemed to actually drift right back off again. Wendy reached over him, and picked up the Colstone. She was grateful he hadn't noticed this little gem. She clenched it in her fist, and felt determination rush through her body. She was going to keep Jason safe. From Mr. E, especially. ---- "...Tch..." Vivian clicked her tongue in exasperation. "...Notice how the fights are getting more and more difficult...? You'd think we'd be able to rest..." Iris was quick to point out, "But this is for the benefit of Jason...without us slaying all these demons, he won't wake up..." She seemed down about this whole thing. "...Yeah, you're right, Iri. Let's do our best." Vivian attempted to make her best friend smile again. There was a swish of a cloth - Hephaestus had moved next to them, and was looking down at Iris and Vivian. "Iris, was it?" He placed a hand on her head, ruffling her ears, in a manner just like Jason himself would. "You worry quite a bit, I see. Turn that emotion towards these demons. Jason will need it." Ringo turned a lazy glance towards them. Was Hephaestus trying to comfort Iris, she wondered. Iris's ears perked up the moment Hephaestus ruffled her ears, suddenly realizing something. However, she discarded that knowledge; preferring to ignore it- it was something she didn't want to accept. "...You can count on me!" Her bright, cheery expression was really something. "I am pleased to hear that." Hephaestus knew that he could count on these girls. He knew they had power and resolve, and with these lost, changing the future would not be impossible at all. "I'm curious, Hephaestus?" Mary tugged on his sleeve for a minute, and his sharp eyes turned towards her. She actually flinched for a moment, wondering if she should still speak. "H-how do you know this will actually work? That we can actually change the timeline?" Hephaestus gave her an appraising look, seemingly impressed by this question, as if he had been waiting for it. "Time is....a human's preconception of time is different from what it actually is. Time isn't a straight, linear procedure of events, it's more like a sphere, no beginning, no end, and nearly any detail can be changed. There are points in time you can call "fixed points", where everything must remain the same, it cannot be changed. This is not one of those times. What we have, right here, is an opportunity. The future revolves around us, here, and now, and the actions we take can save the world." Iris's mind was spinning. "Eeeeeehh....I don't understand a word of it except the last bit...But I'll assume it's a good thing~" Vivian facepalmed; smacking Iris across the back of the head. "It's a time thing. You didn't spend the time in school to understand it." The Gathering Of Nothingness "It would appear...the humans of this new century are far more competent than they were centuries ago." A shadowy figure began to take form, not far off from where the current advance team was making their progress. "It seems that this time, that the human race is not full of idiots. After all, if you are seeking an absolute truth, you will not find it. Only truth that applies to you." The darkness surrounded them and spread out from where the duo was spawning. And yet another shape took form, shadowy as the others, and when it spoke, it sounded far less human than the other two. "There shall be no lesson for them on this day. Their time has already run out." "You both speak true, my brothers." The first shadowy figure, who had started this meeting in the first place, spoke once more. "However, as individuals, engaging in conflict with those particular humans may prove cumbersome." "Naturally, beings from the demonic realms are superior to those puny humans. Nevertheless, the fusion shall begin soon- and all shall be brought to rubble." The second shadowy figure warned. "Yes. I believe it is time we abandoned our own needs for individuality." The first shadowy figure's words seemed ominous. ""We shall become the true Gehaburn!" "Once Gehaburn rises from the ashes; all shall become one with Gehaburn. Nothing shall be hurt, and nothing shall remain." A true philosophy; assimilation plot if there ever was one. "We shall call the remaining fragments!" The raspier, less-human sounding shadowy-figure was already assuming a more solid form, though nothing was truly visible. "Our time to assimilate is '''NOW!'"'' Crash! Thunder rained down from the heavens, striking down across the barren land as the earth shook with superior force. The gray clouds and darkened sky suddenly turned a complete pitch black; nothing could be seen up above, as night fell sooner than it should have while the team ventured forth. Iris's ears immediately drooped downwards; always a sign of bad omens. "...This doesn't feel so well...I feel sick." She seemed to cough up blood; Vivian quickly held her arm tightly, though Iris did point forwards- "Where it's coming from; over there." "This can't be...!" Hephaestus' voice was a growl as he looked towards the sky. "This is too soon!" "What do you mean?" Mary asked, following where Iris' gaze was. "This....the shaking of the earth...the darkening of the sky...the horrible miasma..." He gritted his teeth. Everything he was feeling, it lit his very cells on fire. This feeling of foreboding. "These are signs of the coming of Gehaburn!" Vivian's eyes pulsated an odd gold; they appeared slitted, like a cat's for some reason. "...Agh!" The sound of sizzling burned through her mind- though just as this sensation began, it ended. "...The hell was that?" She shook her head. "...Never mind. Let's just go." Meanwhile, the ground around them slowly became enveloped in darkness... "No..." Ringo appeared next to them, her blank stare bewitching them all as Ichigo looked uncomfortable. "We do not need to move...it's already coming for us." Ichigo immediately clutched onto Vivian's arm; instinctually- even though, she had never done so before. She was absolutely mortified; unlike everyone else here, she, Mary, and her twin Ringo could be perfectly summed up as "normal". No special Lost Magic, no otherwordly heritage, no nothing. They could be shattered like glass. "....It's okay to run, right...?" "It's far too late to back out now." Hephaestus' guttural voice rang out to them all. "Gehaburn itself will rend the world asunder. Taking your time to escape is prolonging the inevitable, and goes to show Akatsuki has nothing but cowards in it's group! Are you truly so scared you cannot defend your own world, Ichigo!?" The very idea of Ichigo wanting to flee seemed to set Hephaestus off. Vivian defended her and screamed at the old man, "It's okay to be scared. It's part of human nature. If you can't fight for yourself, then the people who surround you will protect you! It's not cowardly! It's perfectly natural! I think I understand what you really are. There's just nothing inside you. Nothing at all. You're pathetic and sad and empty; it's not wrong to be human sometimes. Bonds will never be broken by such decisions. It's not that you feel guilty for being the sole survivor of that future; it's because you failed in protecting something, you came back to set things right, and NOW you're taking it out on others for being human! What kind of person is that!? You're no defender; you're just an asshole who thinks they're doing the right thing!" "You have that half-right. I have no interest in protecting the world." Hephaestus replied coldly. "And you would be a fool if that was the first impression you got from me. But, you are correct. I did fail to protect something. I have been torn about that mistake...for two centuries, I waited, until I could come back to rectify it!" His eyes narrowed, and he focused his gaze directly at her. "And stand now, Vivian Starrkewolfe! Standing guard over what I have to protect. You, who were harping on not just a minute ago about being human...is it not also human to, in times of great need, cast aside the weakness you call fear to stand and protect what's important!? I do not need your judgement, nor do I need your approval! The time has long since gone by when I required things such as that. What matters now...is to keep my eyes locked solely on my goal. And protect the one thing I have regretted destroying." "Hephaestus..." Mary trailed off. Whether she had wanted to say something, no one knew, but his words seem to have a strange impact on her. As if they was something behind them, that he wouldn't let them see. Listening to the old guy's words, she merely nodded her head in acceptance. "I see." She understood what he said; but right now, she was more concerned with Ichigo. Crossing her arms, Vivian reassured Ichigo, "It's fine to be human, okay? I understand that feeling of absolute uselessness oh so well. Courage doesn't grow on trees nor is it inherant to everyone, but when the time comes when you want to protect something, it'll come to you." Ichigo shook her head, "No, Vivian. I think I understand now. I won't let you down, so I'll fight for your sake, and Jason's sake as well. You can count on me." "Pay attention!" Hephaestus pushed the entire group of girls back with a simple swing of his arm — surprising strength for such an old man, as a tentacle ten times their size came hurtling out of the shadows. Hephaestus, with great speed, withdrew his blade from his cane, slicing the tentacle in half. "Wakey wakey boys and girls." Ringo murmured. "Heeeee's heeeeere." Iris suddenly jumped; in fright- as the tendrils quickly swarmed around the group; before they knew it, they were surrounded. From the shadows that enveloped the group's area, a large shadow formed. Malice slithered up Iris's spine and danced in spiteful shivers over the back of her neck. The squirrel could sense the thing's hostility — this was something different, something vaster, more timeless, and deeper than any ocean. It was a poisonous hate, something so ancient, so vile, that it could almost kill without any other action or being to support it, a hate so old and virulent that it had curdled and congealed over its surface into a stinking, staggering contempt. This thing wanted to destroy them all. It wanted to hurt them. It wanted to enjoy the process. And nothing she said, nothing she did, would, ever, ever change that. Iris was something to be eradicated, preferably in some amusing fashion. It had no mercy. It had no fear. And it was old, old beyond her ability to comprehend. It was patient. And if she proved to disappointing to it, she would only break through the veneer of that contempt — and what lay underneath would dissolve them all like the deadliest acid. She felt...stained, simply by feeling its presence, stained as if it had left some hideous imprint or mark on her, one that could not be wiped away. It was a gigantic black figure; similar to "specter of the Brocken," a shadow of swirling mists, brought into being by hate and malice; Gehaburn, in a primitive form. The Unexpected Alliance Hephaestus, however, breathed a sigh of relief. When Mary, admist her fear, shot him an incredulous glance, he decided to explain. "This is actually for more fortuitous a situation than I had expected. This beast is not Gehaburn, which shall make this much easier!" "..Not Gehaburn...do you feel it, Hephaestus? Do you FEEL what's coming from that...that thing!?" Mary shrieked, pointing towards the specter as she edged closer towards her older sister. "It's going to kill us it's going to kill us it's going to kill us it's going to kill us it's going to kill us it's going to kill us" She kept repeating that same phrase over and over, faster and faster, as if she was about to lose her mind. "Whatever is the issue..." Ringo murmured. "Let us embrace the darkness...we can swallow it..." Vivian glanced over at Ringo, complaining, "You really need to stop doing that. People will think that you're a demon, ya know." The tentacles slithered around the group; attacking with abandon. And then it was behind Iris; so close it could almost touch, its outline towering over her; huge and horrible. And it leaned down. A forked tongue slithered out from between its horrible shark-chain-saw teeth, and it whispered in a perfectly low, calm, British accent, "What you have just sensed is as close as your mind can come to encompassing my name. How do you do?" "We are not here to make small talk with you." Hephaestus had already made wide movement, simply pushing the tentacle away with the edge of his blade. Once again, Mary flashed him an odd look. It was like he was trying to conserve his power. Did it really matter by this point? "However, it doesn't matter now. Fortunately, you are not solely our problem." Now this was truly confusing. "Oh my. Such callousness." The being wrapped it's tendrils around Iris' body lightly; in a seemingly not-at-all malevolent manner- truly affable if such a thing could be processed by an eldrich abomination. Hephaestus was having none of that, dashing forward and cutting right into the tendril, seeing it fade and scooping Iris into his free arm, skidding along the ground to spare a glare up at the beast. However, he made no move towards it, and that was soon clear why. A shadowy portal opened up behind them, wide, like a mouth, as two figures stepped out. One was a man in a dark, hooded cloak, wearing an orange mask adorned with a spiraling flame patterned, and, oddly enough, one eye-hold. Following this masked man was none other than Crux. Crux gently stepped down upon the barren earth; keeping that smug smile upon his face, he cheerfully waved, "Ohai there Vivian. Seems that your little group is having some trouble." Vivian was utterly shocked, exclaiming, "Crux...! What are you doing here-" "Tsk, tsk. Don't worry, honey, I've got your back." Crux held out his hand; chanting; "Come to me, Eslydeon." Instantly, in a flash of gold, a large two-handed sword with an elaborate hand guard where it's glowing core floats disembodied within as long as Crux was tall was summoned to his hand. The blade itself had a crystalline and ice-like design with a glowing sphere; overall, it was grounded in the uncanny valley for how...organic it looked. "The big guns have arrived..." Ringo seemed to be serving a commentator. "...the great swallower of worlds shakes in fear..." The masked man stepped forward, the tips of his fingers glowing, and when he spoke, his voice was guttural and deep, much like Hephaestus' own. "Open, door to the Titiania, Erza Scarlet!" He made a long swiping motion with his index and middle fingers, opening a portal which summoned a woman with pure red hair, decked out in Heartz Kruez Armor. And she looked just like Erza Kazoraem. Crux parted his hair in a rather typical prettyboy way. "...Oh my. Doesn't she look like she's about to pop a blood vessel?" He did have the habit of snarkily commenting on magic; in this case, Crux Kouga was damn right about that assumption. Iris's eyes widened. "Isn't that...the Titbouncer of the Fudge Packers Guild who dissapeared and nobody really cared?" Vivian smacked Iris in the back of the head. "...It's Fairy Tail." "...that's not possible!" Mary stepped forward, the shock of the fused beast being overturn at this new revelation. "Fairy Tail disappeared a few years ago. So did several other legal guilds." Hephaestus looked at her, wondering how she knew this. "Laurent told us all of this before. The Council is picking off legal guilds one-by-one. The moment Raven Tail came back on the radar as a legal guild, it was erased as well. Mermaid Heel, Sabertooth, even Lamia Scale. It's like the council is afraid of Mages. But what is that Erza doing with you guys!?" The masked man turned to face her, his eye narrowing as if he was smiling under that mask. "You're very knowledgeable, little child. And yes, you are correct. Fairy Tail, along with several other guilds, had all of their members killed off by the magic Council. I simply went in and collected the spoils." "You...you can't mean..." Mary seemed to be at a loss for words here. "Human Possession." Ringo murmured, her blank eyes locked on Kagemusha. Momoko summarized, "...So, a cruel mercy? You managed to save them, at the cost of free will? It's not salvation; it's a fate worse than death." The masked man chuckled, a chuckle without mirth. "They're just a collection now. I never viewed it as salvation, and I will not apologise for art." Iris remembered somebody saying something similar, but she decided to leave it be. "...He sounds like a real baddie..." Momoko reassured her, "Relax, for now. At least he's not after us right now. We can always become stronger." The incomplete Gehaburn let out a blood-curdling shriek; as it replicated itself into dozens upon dozens of duplicates, charging at the group as to attack them from every side imaginable. "And it appears this is where the action starts." The masked man cricked his neck, and stood in a very relaxed posture given the situation. "Erza, cut those beasts to shreds." "Yes, Master Kagemusha." Erza took a stance, readying her sword as the beasts charged her way. The battle was about to get serious. END